January 6, 1897.] 



Garden and Forest. 



the various forms of forcing structures. The physics of 

 greenhouse roofs and the principles involved in the various 

 methods of heating, as well as the mechanical operations 

 of building and putting in heating and ventilating appa- 

 ratus, should receive most careful attention. So far as prac- 

 ticable it has been found advantageous for students to visit 

 commercial houses in the vicinity in order to make intelli- 

 gent comparisons of the different methods employed. 

 Practice in making designs and estimates for the construc- 

 tion of different styles of houses is of special importance 

 in this connection. 



In discussing the management of the houses, watering, 

 ventilating, etc., the student's knowledge of physiological 

 botany will be of practical value. 



The spring is preeminently the time to take up the sub- 

 ject of vegetable gardening. Remarks concerning pre- 

 liminary work for the course in pomology will apply to 

 this course. In other words, a knowledge of botany, of 

 soils, of drainage and of agricultural chemistry should 

 precede the discussion of vegetable gardening. The gen- 

 eral treatment of the subject at the Maine State College is 

 somewhat similar to that outlined for the course in po- 

 mology. After some general notes on market gardening 

 as a business and the extent of the industry, the leading 

 garden vegetables are taken up in detail. As in the case 

 of fruits, the vegetables naturally fall into several groups ; 

 root crops, or those in which roots or underground stems 

 are edible ; Cabbage-plants, the Solanums, the Cucurbits, 

 the Alliums, etc. In studying the different groups the 

 general characteristics are first given, together with a dis- 

 cussion of the distribution and relative importance of the 

 various members. Then each species is treated in detail 

 in the manner described for fruits. In this way the student 

 gets a broader conception of the subject than is possible if 

 no system be followed. 



In the laboratory work which forms a part of this course, 

 the student is made familiar with the different kinds of 

 garden seeds, with methods of seed-testing, with soils and 

 garden imp'ements, as well as with the practical operations 

 of planting, cultivating and marketing. The later opera- 

 tions may best be learned in detail when the student can 

 devote his whole time to the work. 



It is questionable whether, in the regular college course, 

 more than one term may profitably be devoted to orna- 

 mental gardening. The leading object of such a course 

 should be to arouse enthusiasm and a love for tasteful 

 surroundings, with some ideas of the principles of taste, 

 rather than to impart specific directions for the culture 

 of certain species of plants. Naturally, the course should 

 include directions as to the sources of information, and 

 should, so far as possible, include practical demonstra- 

 tions of the methods employed in managing different 

 classes of plants. But, as a large majority of the students 

 will be interested in this work only incidentally, it would 

 seem that sixteen weeks is sufficient time for both land- 

 scape-gardening and floriculture. Here, however, as in all 

 cases, local conditions must govern the policy adopted. 



I should not regard the course as complete unless at 

 least one term were devoted to a systematic study of plant- 

 breeding. This study would properly include a considera- 

 tion of the origin and distribution of cultivated plants ; 

 their variation as effected by soil, climate and cultivation ; 

 the influence of heredity, the principles of selection, the 

 methods and effects of crossing, etc. In such a course the 

 student may obtain some idea of the possibilities in the 

 direction of scientific horticulture. 



The remaining term of the senior year may profitably 

 be spent in the investigation of special problems and in a 

 study of horticultural literature. This course, as also the 

 one in plant-breeding, would, naturally be made elective. 

 Laboratory work and collateral reading should be made 

 important features of every course in horticulture, as it is 

 a well-recognized fact that the student retains more lasting 

 impressions from demonstrations than from the most care- 

 fully prepared lectures. The laboratory work should, how- 



ever, be accompanied by informal discussions as thoroughly 

 systematized as the class-room instruction, and, as far as 

 possible, should follow the same lines as those taken 

 up in the lectures. 



The foregoing notes are intended to invite discussion 

 concerning the purpose and scope of horticultural instruc- 

 tion, as well as methods of teaching, rather than as a con- 

 tribution of special significance. In brief, however, my 

 ideas on the subject are here given. 



Maine Slate College. " • M. MwiSOTl. 



Three Natural Parks. 



T 1 



HE cities of Halifax, Truro and St. John, in the mari- 

 _|_ time provinces of Canada, are the possessors of 

 parks of great natural beauty, each typical of the bold and 

 rugged scenery which prevails on the adjacent coasts, and 

 each one almost in its natural state. Point Pleasant Park, 

 the oldest of the three, and formerly called Tower Wot ids, 

 is on a point of land at the lower extremity of the magnifi- 

 cent harbor, stretching along the water-front and looking 

 out upon the Atlantic Ocean. It occupies the entire 

 southern end of the peninsula on which Halifax is built, 

 and extends from the harbor on the one side to the North- 

 west Arm, and comprises about 180 acres, the highest 

 point being some 150 feet above the sea. Except for the 

 eight miles of road built through it, and many delightful 

 foot-paths, it is entirely covered with forest. The property 

 belongs to the Imperial Government, but the city has a 

 perpetual lease and free use of it on the conditions that no 

 buildings are to be put on it, and no wharves or traffic 

 allowed on its shores, while the forts, of which there are 

 several, are to remain under the control of the Imperial 

 Government. The park is in charge of twelve commis- 

 sioners appointed by the City Council, five of whom are 

 permanent, the others being the Mayor and six Aldermen, 

 who hold the position until their terms in the City Council 

 expire. The city appropriates the modest sum of $2,500 

 a year for the maintenance of the park. Of course, the 

 commissioners are not paid, but the chairman devotes 

 much of his time to the park as a labor of love. The main 

 effort is to keep it essentially in forest and preserve lis 

 natural features. When the park was tirst begun, Prince 

 Edward, the father of Queen Victoria, did much to beautify 

 it, and his example has been followed by other distin- 

 guished commanders at Halifax since his time. The excel- 

 lent roads are made chiefly by the soldiers. Except the 

 fine iron gates at the entrance of the park, which, with 

 considerable money to open the avenue to it, were a gift 

 from the late Sir William Young, and a handsome keeper's 

 lodge, in the course of erection, there is very little artificial 

 work in this oldest of the parks of Canada. It is practi- 

 cally a magnificent grove of trees, making a typical forest 

 of eastern Canada. During the last few years the commis- 

 sioners have set out many young exotic trees and shrubs, 

 but the native species have been so well preserved and 

 kept in such prominence that the visitor finds it difficult to 

 believe that he is not in a well-preserved natural forest. 

 The fine Public Gardens of Halifax are not a part of the 

 park, but are managed by a separate board. 



The Victoria Park, at Truro, Nova Scotia, was founded 

 about ten years ago, in the Queen's Jubilee year. Its situa- 

 tion and surroundings are romantic in the extreme. From 

 a plateau at the top of a range of hills on the southern side 

 of the city a stream flows down in a succession of cascades, 

 forming a ravine which extends almost to the city limits. 

 The stream finds its way through this ravine, now bound- 

 ing over rocky ledges, now dimpling in foamy pools, until 

 it enters a little glen, bordered with evergreen trees, about 

 a quarter of a mile from the city. Here is the entrance to 

 the park, rather sombre even on a bright October day, but 

 when once the visitor enters the gorge the romantic beauty 

 of the scene is one well fitted to captivate him. A path 

 follows the windings of the stream for some distance, giv- 

 ing new views of picturesque scenery at every turn. Here 

 a bare wall of red sandstone towers above the path for 



